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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · cabinet · bear · suit · pound · capital · clip · wound

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pound — a weight
  4. capital — a city
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. capital — money
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. suit — in cards
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bear — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com